Holme Dunes NWT & Holme Bird Observatory NOA!

Considering my late night, I did well to arrive at Holme by 8.30am this morning. A beautiful sunny day, which brought out the day trippers with children, dogs, buckets and spades, beach gear etc when the gate opened at 10am.

I walked across to the beach – the tide was very high and almost up to the dunes again. Walked along the path through the pines and to the observatory, where I sat and chatted with Sophie and Cat and also met some lovely people who read my blog. The large tamarisk is in full bloom and is a stunning spectacle of pink flowers. Waited for a Bee-eater to fly over – I was disappointed! Not many birds seen really, but Marsh Harrier, Cuckoos, Cetti's Warbler, Grey Partridges x 2, Swallows, Goldfinches, Linnets and a Lesser Whitethroat briefly. Headed back towards the car parks.

I stood next to the large sycamore in the NWT car park (the only mature sycamore between all reserves left now) and was trying to magic something up between the sunlit leaves, when a car that pulled up made so much noise! Everyone piled out of the big car, shouting, talking, someone on the phone arranging lunch, car doors banging and so on. Each car that turned up made similar levels of noise. So much for it being a nature reserve! Why don't people be more considerate on a reserve? Its not Hunstanton or Great Yarmouth for goodness sake! Ok, so they may well not be the slightest bit interested in birds or nature, but surely they should respect the place where they are?! Saw a male Blackcap and mummy Chaffinch feeding baby, before they all disappeared from view after the noisy cars turned up. Returned to my car on the NOA car park. Walked to the far NWT wader pool hide, but didn't really see anything of note. Red Admiral seen on the way back and dragonflies that didn't settle once for me to identify.

I was parked in my favourite peaceful spot, in the far right hand corner of the car park. Got my new picnic table and chair out, had lunch and very lazily sat there for several hours! No point in rushing round the coast, burning petrol and joining the bank holiday traffic, as disappointingly, the RBA pager had hardly gone off! So unless birds were being suppressed, there didn't seem to be anything of huge excitement to go and see or any indication that I needed to go and search for something myself. As David Lindo says "look up" and I did...... lots, in hope of seeing a Bee-eater gracing the bright blue skies. It was a long wait with no results! Eventually I decided that I needed to have a good long walk and try and find something. Walked to the NWT Forestry and found nothing at all. Continued along the coastal boardwalk footpath and passed the singer David Gray with his little dog. I didn't say anything to him as he has no idea who I am and I didn't want to appear intrusive. I realised I hadn't seen him here for several years.

Anyway, continued on past the bungalows and the paddocks and found my first Painted Lady of the Spring and then a second one and also saw a Wall butterfly. Continued to the village car park and sat on a picnic bench for a while. Then walked along Beach Road, passing several House Sparrows dust bathing and also saw a Greenfinch. Followed the narrow footpath east at the River Hun bridge and ended up at Redwell Marsh Hide for the first time in over a year. Sedge Warblers and a Cetti's Warbler singing on route. Not much seen from the hide, but several Black-headed Gulls and a pair of Shelducks seen. Continued east along the path and pondered on a seat just past the 'standing caravan' area. Walked back along the Firs Road to my car and then returned to King's Lynn.

PICTURES TO BE ADDED